(Strip Number 611, Original Publication Date, 11 May 1984)
Panel 1: As Elly and Anne are having coffee, our 'hero' tells Anne that Mike asked if he could practice his trumpet outside; so far, he's spent an hour doing so.
Panel 2: As the music plays, Elly smiles because she thinks that Michael realizes that he's found his permanent job of making Mommy look good.
Panel 3: What Elly doesn't know is that Michael is renting his trumpet out to his chums who are lined up for their chance to play the thing. While she's sitting there thinking that he's being serious, Mike is counting his money and Lawrence is telling Gordon "Come on, Gordon. I paid Mike a nickel too... it's MY turn!"
Summary: As I said, Elly isn't going to like this when she finds out. Not only would he be accused of 'exploiting' his friends, he's not taking things seriously enough to suit his panicky, unrealistic expectation having maniac mother. That being said, watch Lynn not get that the real problem is that Mike is still not rock-solid on this 'respect for property' thing.